Manon Mirabelli photoU.S. Rep John W. Olver, D-Amherst, holds a whip he was given during a Sunday morning breakfast held by the Westfield Democratic Committee at Tekoa Country Club to honor the retiring congressman.

WESTFIELD — John W. Olver was honored by the city’s Democratic Committee for 40 years of distinguished service and was called “an unusual guy with an unusual style.”

State Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, D-Amherst, Olver’s former legislative aide and chief of staff, offered remarks during the Sunday breakfast at Tekoa Country Club hosted by the Westfield Democratic Committee where he shared some of Olver’s habits.

“He is the most unusual of politicians,” Rosenberg said after recounting the story of watching Olver eat an entire head of iceberg lettuce one folded leaf at a time. “He was always ahead of his time and taking stands before they were popular.”

In addition to folding individual lettuce leaves until they are small enough to pop into his mouth, Olver is also known for eating Scandinavian crackers one tiny bite at a time, a habit, Olver revealed, that allowed him ample time to think carefully before speaking in meetings with colleagues and lobbyists.

Rosenberg noted that his former boss was not afraid to take a stand for all people regardless of sexual orientation, making him an early pioneer of equal rights.

“He worked to advance social and human rights and dignity for all people,” he said. “John Olver accomplished good things and was one of the first legislators to stand up for women’s, same sex and gay rights. He is a remarkable human being and politician.”

Rosenberg also called the Amherst Democrat “the grandfather of bike paths,” an appropriate name given the fact that early on Olver was at the forefront of developing and creating the rail trail the runs from New Haven, Conn., to Vermont, a steadfast passion in environmentalism that Olver said was fostered in his professional life as a chemist.

“I would have been a naturalist,” he said. “Environmental issues have always been deep in my heart.”

His other love, Olver said, is transportation, and it is only fitting that he was presented Sunday with a whip from the Whip City, an equestrian riding crop that harkens back to the earliest means of transportation.

“I’m glad to have this whip because it symbolizes the beginning of transportation,” Olver said.

In addition to environmental and transportation issues, Olver’s other passion was housing issues; he cited the conversion of the nurse’s dormitory at Western Massachusetts Hospital to an assisted living facility for senior citizens as one of his first projects in Westfield.

For the first time in 44 years, Olver concluded, his name is not on the ballot for an upcoming election, which he said is “a bit of a shock to me.”

In keeping with his devotion to the environment, Olver said he plans on filling his spare time with outdoor activities.

“I’ve had a long and good run here,” he said, “but it’s my time to move on to gardening, hiking, rock climbing and traveling. I have enjoyed every bit of time in this area.”